How are ya? How was the weekend? Let me know what you did and if there's anything noteworthy, hehe. I had a good one, was on another level productive, got a car (which is so adult it hurts) and then did some work. Prepping for Bali in a week! WHAT!

But anyways! To you, to this post. On MORNINGS!

Guys I am a MORNING PERSON.

What are you? Morning? Night?

Not a person? Alien?

Hehe.

I love mornings so much. That time when you have all to yourself. To just start your day and get ahead before all the chaos ensues - is truly everything to me. I am a 'bed early, up early' person all DAY. As I get older and older, it's just my thing.

I do truly believe however that some people are night owls. They stay up, creative juices flowing and need that extra sleep in the AM since they were working away while the morning people snoozed. Justin is a night owl, but I am slowly transforming him.

How you morning, says a LOT about you. It says a lot about your priorities, honestly.

Think about it.

What's the first thing you do? Reach for your cell phone? Answer emails or check Instagram? That's your priority then. During those first moments of the day, that's what you're doing (for better or worse! I'm guilty!)

Or, you could get out of bed, stretch, drink hot water with lemon.... Move the body and start slowly and respectfully.

It could be a morning with an alarm, or if you're retired, you may not have an alarm (JK but if you don't have an alarm tell me your secrets).

What I mean, is that, depending on you, there is a right and a wrong way to wake up.

Waking up sets the tone for your day, and physically it can really help you to wake up mindfully.

Morning rituals to try:

Have a glass of warm lemon water: This has been said to ease digestion, and through the aryuvdeic tradition, is the best way to wake your body up and ease yourself into the day.

Meditate: I can't say it enough. It has changes the game for me. it's changed my life in the most drastic way, and has made me more present, more aware, and has decreased my anxiety. When I meditate in the morning, I feel like I have a better handle on the 'day', I don't feel like it happens and I am out of control, I feel more in control of it. You can read my tips to meditate here.

Scrape your tongue: This is another ancient tradition, but it's said to remove bacteria from your tongue to keep you from getting sick. For some reason, it just makes me feel clean! You can get the one I use here.

Stretch: I love a good quick stretch in the morning. Just a few seconds, to stand up straight, get the blood flowing, it's an easy way to wake your body up.

Journal: I go in and out with journaling, but if I do my gratitude journal, to write down what I am thankful for (just 3 things) I find that my life unfolds in such a beautiful way. Gauging your feelings is so important. I've had situations where I look back on my feelings in a journal, and it has helped direct me to the right decision in the present moment because I will have noticed a theme. My favorite journal ever is here.

Electronics on ice: Keep the phone away while you start your day. When you look at your phone immediately, you trigger the stress hormone cortisol, which can lead to higher stress levels, and with cortisol, higher amounts of belly fat. I find that if I wait for an hour before I look at my phone I feel much more prepared for the day.

Writing down a list: What do you want to accomplish today? Write it down and it's so much more likely to happen.

Having a 'moment': Just having a second to yourself, to be present. Where are you, where are you going, what is your purpose? I sometimes just put my hand over my heart to feel my heart beat and give thanks for my health, my home, my purpose.

WATER: Having water is so key in the morning. It starts your metabolism. flushes your system and helps to hydrate you after 7+ hours without water. I find that when I drink water in the morning, I also want to eat less throughout the day.

Keep it EASY: I LOVE this little key card holder that I got via Octer, by Charlotte Olympia.

How cute is the little kitty on it? LOVE.

I use this basically everyday in lieu of a full wallet and I feel like it's so much easier to carry with my phone.

Also P.S., what's different about Octer is that it's a unique marketplace of the biggest UK stores. So things that we wouldn't normally find at our U.S. based spots (like Nordstrom, Bloomies, etc) we can find here. They have everything from cell phones covers to running shoes, and instantly compare brands to show you the best matches; so you always get the lowest price and can discover products from stores, that I definitely wouldn't normally think of.

Like this cat wallet! Would have never thought of it - but found it on Octer, on the Farfetch website which is basically Net-a-porter esque and amazing.

Anything I missed? What do you do in the morning?

I think for me, meditation, water and not looking at my phone are truly key. The phone thing, is hard but I just think that whatever needs to be done can wait, and creating that boundary is important.

The others, I sort of go in and out of doing, but if I took an hour each day for me, just to do this, I think my world would completely change.